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Kane and Alli at double as Tottenham cut Leicester lead

Harry Kane and Dele Alli both scored twice as Tottenham beat Stoke 4-0 to cut Leicester’s lead at the top of the Premier League to five points.

The England pair took it in turns to find the net on a comfortable night for Mauricio Pochettino’s men at the Britannia Stadium, with the hosts offering precious little resistance throughout.

“Leicester City, we’re coming for you” bellowed the raucous travelling support after Kane’s ninth-minute opener, which Christian Eriksen came close to adding to as half-time approached with a strike that rattled the crossbar.

Alli’s exceptional flick put the Danish playmaker through and the roles reversed in the 67th minute when the England midfielder collected a stunning pass and coolly lifted the ball over Shay Given.

Kane ensured Alli’s miss-of-the-season contender moments later mattered little by slotting home Spurs’ third, taking his tally for the season to 24 – one more than rudderless Aston Villa have managed this term.

Alli volleyed home an exceptional fourth late on as Tottenham produced a display which shows Leicester they would be pushed to the end.

It was a result that looked likely from the outset as Given, making his first Premier League start for the club, just two days before he turned 40, prevented Kane turning home a threaded Erik Lamela pass.

The in-form striker would only be denied for a matter of minutes, though. Linking up with Mousa Dembele and collecting the ball on the edge of the box, Kane cut inside and bent home superbly to the delight of the 2,849 travelling fans.

It capped an impressive start by Spurs that Alli was doing his utmost to add to, having an effort blocked, charging down a clearance and firing over from an acute angle in quick succession.

Stoke soon began to up their game but Toby Alderweireld was marshalling the defence impressively, with a fierce Marko Arnautovic strike the first to get through to Hugo Lloris.

The Austria international nodded wide and Bojan fired over before focus turned to referee Neil Swarbrick – replacement for Kevin Friend due to his allegiance to Leicester – during a scrappy period in which Glenn Whelan and Dembele somehow avoided bookings.

Spurs regrouped when play became more fluid, with Kane’s fine cross evading Lamela before Dembele came close with a fizzing strike from distance.

Pochettino’s men upped the ante as half-time approached and Lamela passed to Alli, whose superb flick put Eriksen through and the Danish playmaker struck the crossbar.

Alli had an effort blocked and Kane struck across the face of goal before the half-time whistle gave Stoke some welcome respite.

Ibrahim Afellay and Arnautovic failed with attempts to level the score early in the second half, which was nine minutes old when Alli blazed over after Eriksen intelligently cushioned the ball.

Lamela saw a near-post effort denied and Alderweireld had penalty appeals ignored after going down under pressure from Ryan Shawcross.

However, Spurs would soon get the goal that gave them breathing space as Eriksen showed wonderful vision to find Alli, with the midfielder showing composure and skill to lift the ball over Given.

Pochettino punched the deck in anger when Alli next went through as composure turned into complacency, rounding the goalkeeper only to strike the post.

That was soon forgotten, though, as Stoke’s complaints for offside were rightly ignored and Lamela squared for Kane to direct home.

Mark Hughes’ side were now being completely outplayed and things got even worse for them in the 82nd minute, with Eriksen’s cross met by an exceptional Alli volley.